The purpose of this article is to explain the various types of air guns available and enable you to make informed decisions. Air guns come in various forms, such as target and hunting types, as well as different caliber and weight for pellets. Deciding on what you intend to use the air gun for will help you in making the decision on what type of air gun to purchase.

Target air guns are precision guns that are used specifically for target shooting. These only require enough energy to speed a .177 caliber pellet through the air. The speed is able to be lower; however, the accuracy must be extremely high. With target air guns, repeatability of the power ensures high quality. The function should be as smooth as possible to keep concentration accurate and pellet insertion should be easy.
Hunting air rifles should provide reasonable accuracy and be able to transfer three to five times as much energy as target air guns. The hunting rifle pellet energy should, at the very least, be as high as the distance of the target, as target air guns are at the muzzle.

C02 or pre-charged air guns help eliminate re-cocking, thus providing for a smoother shooting process. Choosing pellets for an air gun again depends on the purpose in which you intend to use it. The different types of caliber available for air guns include .177, .20, .22, and .25 calibers. In order to determine the best type of pellet for your air gun you should experiment with the various combinations until you are satisfied with the intended results.

The speed of a pellet varies with the weight of a pellet. The heaver a pellet is the slower the speed and vice versa. Additionally, air resistance determines speed as well. There are various different types of pellets such as wad cutters, which are specific for target shooting and required in competitions. Round nose pellets and crow magnum hollow heads are used for hunting. They are heavier in weight and penetrate deeper. Crow magnums are great because they actually expand creating a larger hole as it enters the target, good for game such as rabbits and woodchucks.

The accuracy of pellet guns are determined by three major factors - the crown, uniformity and wind. The crown is essentially the barrel lip, it is said that the crown should give the same exact surface to the spinning tail of a pellet. This will prevent a wobble from the pellet being tipped one way or the other.

Uniformity is the spinning of the pellet. The pellet must be balanced as it spins otherwise even the slightest unbalanced pellet will cause a pellet to veer off course the minute it leaves the barrel. Wind deflects the pellets; this is usually dependant upon the weight of the pellet.

In closure, your choice of air gun will greatly depend on the function you would like it to perform. For target practice or competitions, a target air gun is the proper choice for you. For hunting game, you will require different accuracy and energy for different prey. The best advice is that you purchase several different types of pellets and practice shooting these for the accuracy and behavior within your own personal air gun. One expert suggests shooting pellets into a bar of soap at various field ranges to determine how well the different pellets penetrate and expand in hunting. The personal testing will help you select the right type of pellet for your usage.